Planning a convention game

[Michael Hopcroft]

I would very much like to help demo VaS at the upcoming Game Storm convention here in Portland this coming March. I should be picking up a copy at my local shop this weekend (and probably buying a box to store it in).

The main issue, aside from my lac of experience with an obviously brand-new game, is that I have ability or really desire to build and paint a whole bunch of ships. But this is going to lead to a problem, because for a convention game you need both optimum player enjoyment ("This game went really well, and it was a close, hard-fougth battle") and optimum "wow" factor from the far-more-numerous casual onlookers ("This looks like a really cool game! where can I buy a copy? How can I learn to play?"), and both of those require the visual element provided by a good set of minis. (It is, in fact, that "wow" factor that keeps Mongoose's chief rivals, Games Workshop, in business despite numerous design and business-planning blunders).

so I am faced with the problem of providing both a challenging game and a spectacular one, which means will have to choose a tense, well-balanced scenario AND I will need to find or at least borrow the ships required (since counters lac the "wow" factor, and I cannot rely on convention players to bring fleets, since they won't know which ships they will actually be using). Given my limited financial, time and storage resources (one of the reasons I've never been a minis collector is I've never had anyplace to put them, as an urban flat-dweller most of my life), what options do I have in this situation, especially given that the convention is in six weeks?

 

[Bullshot]

We have good luck locally using the Battle of the Denmark Strait scenario from the VaS book. For it, you will need HMS Hood, HMS Prince of Wales, the Bismark and the Prinz Eugene. Big guns and good ranges, plus the ships can take some hits. Most folks that are remotely familiar with WW2 naval history will recognize the fight. It will accomodate 4 players at a time and can be palyed fairly quickly still.

BS

 

[chaos0xomega]

This is what you do...

you go to panzerschiffe.com or Navwar.com, and ordre a hole bunch of stuff. Consentrate on 2 fleets. Say Brits and Germs or something, and order a whole mess of ships(make sure rules exist for them!) and pray that they get to your place in time. THEN, you get some of your best buddies to help you run the game, and force them to paint along with you(in exchange for some pizza, soda, beer, etc.) and hope you get it all done in time. Then you go to the convention... and have fun!

OR, you can take the 'poor mans' way out, and choose a decently sized scenario from the VAS book(I don't have it, so I can't suggest anything, but I want to say Guadalcanal, but there might be something larger, shame there wasnt a Jutland during WW2), order just hte ships you need for that, and do it the easy way, and then just play the same short, repetitive game all day....

OR, you can combine one of the two plans(preferably the first one), with a nice little email to mongoose asking them for some dinero(not full cost, just a portion)(hopefully AFTER the event, so it is legit and they don't worry about you making off with the money(take pics!)) to reimburse you for your expenses to advertise their game for them.

 

[Chernobyl]

I would use the counters - playability is a selling point. If you want to have ships on hand, use them for display or reference.

Chern

 

[pbeccas]

You could do a small demonstration game like the Battle of Cape Spada. You only need 8 ships, 5 of them are destroyers. Get them from Navwar and it would cost you 6 pommy pounds and it would take you a couple of days to paint them.

 

[Hugbiel]

I thing that conter can do the job for playing : they are not "wow is too great" but it may be "wow I only need the basic box to play all that".
For may own experience a mix of both may look realy good.

Since I don't have the game yet I can't help with the senario. But for a senario with ships the Battle of the Denmark Strait look interesting since the protagonist are so famous. And may be some what if for use with the conters : Yamato and Kongo against Bismark and Scharnhorst.

 

[chaos0xomega]

Why don't you get some stuff for 2 or 3 smaller scenarios, and set up on a table large enough to hold the 2 or 3 games simultaneously(clearly mark off the boundaries though!), and early on just do some small exhibition games with you +1 or 2 friends against anyone that wants to challenge you, and then later on pull out the counters for 'Operation Olympic' - the propsed invasion of Japan or something like that? Low cost, and you still get high volume.